Battle of Marsa

The Battle of Marsa (305 BC) was a battle of the Wars of the Diadochi fought between the Kingdom of Thrace and the Antigonid Empire. The Thracians, led by Ziper of Kabyle, defeated Bolon of Thessalonica's Macedonian Antigonid army, and the battle was a minor setback for Antigonus during his invasion of Macedonia and Greece.

Background
In 306 BC, the Antigonid Empire laid siege to the independent Greek island city of Rhodes. With the assistance of Ptolemy and the Ptolemaic Empire (Egypt), Rhodes held out and defeated the Antigonids. Ptolemy was named "Soter" ("savior") by the Rhodeans, and Antigonus One-Eye was forced to recalculate. This setback did not prevent him from invading Greece and threatening Macedonia, and he led a huge army into Greece from Asia Minor. The Kingdom of Thrace, led by Lysimachus, fought to defend their lands from the Antigonids, whose invasion of Greece threatened the Thracians. With an army of 914 troops, Thracian general Ziper of Kabyle resisted Bolon of Thessalonica's 474 Antigonid troops in a battle that would decide the fate of Thrace.

Battle
Fought in the Thracian foothills at Marsa (present-day Haskovo, Bulgaria), the battle between the two armies was important, as if the Thracians lost, the Antigonids could crush Lysimachus. The Thracian army, consisting of phalanx spearmen, faced an army of militia hoplites. Ziper gave an inspiring speech, saying that although he was unhappy that they would fight before breakfast, they would be able to feast once they were victorious.

The Antigonids went on the offensive against a wall of Thracian pikes levelled at them from behind huge shields, with their Companion Cavalry attacking first. They were easily routed, as they were horsemen facing their most-dreaded enemies, the pikemen. Then, the Macedonian infantry arrived, and the phalanxes clashed. In the end, it was a Thracian victory, as their peltasts and archers fired on the Macedonians as they engaged the Thracian pikemen. 612 Antigonids and 29 Thracians were killed in the battle, which resulted in a Thracian victory.

Aftermath
The Antigonid army of Bolos of Thessalonica was destroyed, and Antigonus was unable to conquer Thrace. However, he continued to campaign until his death at the 301 BC Battle of Ipsus, where Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus teamedup and destroyed his army.